A mobile gambling game is a digital casino app that allows users to access and play casino games on their smartphones. These apps typically feature popular casino games such as slots, poker and blackjack, but they may also offer new gaming concepts such as virtual reality casino games or sports betting. They also often include features such as user registration, identity verification and social media integration. These features can help to increase player engagement and attract a wide audience.
Mobile gambling has gained popularity among players for its convenience. It enables gamers to play casino games while on the go, and even while waiting in a queue or at home. This has resulted in a rapid growth of the online gambling industry, and there is now a large number of mobile casino games available. However, it is important to note that there are some risks associated with this type of gambling. Some people can become addicted to these games and they should be careful not to overspend or exceed their budgets.
This article examines the role of associative learning and reinforcement schedules in gambling behaviour, and how these factors are modified by the design of mobile gambling apps. It explores the potential for mobile gambling to trigger problems in certain subsets of gamblers, and how these differences could be addressed by current responsible gambling interventions. It concludes by discussing whether the atypical characteristics of mobile gambling apps might distinguish this technology from other interactive gambling technologies, and whether these atypical features might contribute to its perceived riskiness.
The aim of the study was to observe participants’ behaviour as they interacted with a simulated gambling app on their smartphone. Participants were asked to complete questionnaires (Gambling Questions, PGSI, Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, Beck Depression Inventory) and a computerised contingency judgement task that probed the illusion of control, a cognitive bias implicated in gambling. During the experiment, participants were asked to play a gambling game on their phone that used a random ratio schedule for reinforcement. The duration of the experiment was a month, and participants’ behaviour was observed through contextual, behavioural and location data on their phones.
A key finding of this study was that the interaction between reinforcement and latency can be finely tuned by designers to elicit desirable behaviour, even in the face of unsuccessful, frustrating outcomes. The asymmetric nature of this interaction makes it particularly potent, and may be particularly attractive to gamblers who are at higher risk for problematic gambling behaviours.
Another significant finding was that the use of mobile gambling apps during extinction periods, when it is no longer possible to win more money, increases persistence and prolongs the time that gamblers spend on the game. This effect is likely to be a result of the asymmetric reinforcement/latency and the perceived speed of response that mobile gambling apps offer, which is consistent with models of gambling addiction that focus on associative processes. This finding is a timely contribution to the debate about the relative riskiness of different types of gambling.